There are many advantages to using dogs for securing premises besides having excellent detection abilities; dogs constitute a physical and a psychological deterring factor merely by their presence, or even just by the knowledge of their existence. In addition to providing a visible presence that deters potential criminal activity, they can abort such activities and detain any persons involved. Dogs may also be trained for specific and even highly complex security missions and can therefore answer special security needs.
In spite of their many advantages, dog-based security systems also have their shortcomings. For a dog-based security system to be effective, security personnel need to be in reach of the dogs for constant check-up and within hearing distance. For this end some systems make use of close-circuit surveillance systems providing full visual and audio coverage of the secured areas, which make them costly and complex systems.
An additional problem with dog-based security systems is that dogs tend to bark for different reasons, not always for the purpose of indicating threat. Dogs may bark due to the appearance of an animal, at other dogs or at a friendly caretaker. Frequent barking may, at first, cause many false alarms and, in time, may cause the guards to unintentionally decrease their level of alertness.
A third problem stems from the fact that the dogs are vulnerable to direct attacks by weapons or by use of toxins—they can be shot and killed, drugged or poisoned. For such scenarios is required a Dog-based security systems which rely upon direct and constant visual contact between the guards and the dogs.
There is therefore a need for security systems that integrate automatic means into dog-based security methods. Such systems can then be attentive to indications given by the dogs and analyze them into readings of level of alarm. These systems then also monitor the state of the dogs on watch, and can activate an alarm whenever an attempt to hurt the dogs is made.
New developed applications for interpreting dogs' behavior are designed for the purpose of improving the communication between pet-dogs and their owners. Such a device is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. JP3083915, which attempts to interpret a dog's barks and cries and translate it to predetermined expressions of emotions and needs. The device includes a voice pattern for each dog type. Based on comparing dog barking patterns to a database of barks, the device is supposed to “translate” the dog's vocal expressions into a range of terms.
This patent is particularly aimed for leisure purposes not requiring high reliability of identification and is thus unsuitable for security systems, which require accurate recognition of the dog's sensed level of alarm. Furthermore, there are some major and fundamental technological differences:
The sound analysis method utilized in this patent addresses the sound characteristics of a single bark only, which limits the analysis accuracy.
Each sound pattern is compared to patterns in a preprogrammed database.
The device has preferably to be adjusted to work with specific dog type.
The device relies solely on audio signals, without making use of physiological parameters.
There is therefore a need for a computerized dog-based security system that can translate vocal and physiological indications given by dogs, to the security alarm level.